McConnell and Bevin quickly move GOP primary to the airwaves with dueling ads

The 2014 Republican primary race is now underway with Louisville businessman Matt Bevin launching his first TV ad on the day he officially announced his candidacy and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell immediately rushing to define Bevin in his new spot.

Hours before Bevin announced Wednesday morning , his campaign released the first ad criticizng McConnell on being in Washington too long. The campaign released two versions of the ad online, one for TV and one for web.

The extended version of the ad begins by hitting McConnell on his record during his time in Washington then moves on to introduce Bevin as a businessman, military veteran, husband, and father of nine.

“Kentucky deserves better than failed policies from Washington, political bullies more focused on scoring points than solving problems, and an elite political class that puts power ahead of principle,” Bevin says in the ad. “We must do better.”

The McConnell campaign wasted no time Wednesday with a new ad claiming Bevin is a tax delinquent. It refers to the Bevin Bros. Bell Company, which Bevin took over in 2008. The federal government assessed a tax lien against the company, as a post on Breitbart first pointed out this week.

“Bevin’s company failed to taxes, then got a taxpayer bailout,” the ad claims. “Bailout Bevin, not a Kentucky conservative.”

But during his announcement, Bevin said he is not a tax delinquent and, in fact, he said he cleaned up the tax problems he inherited with that company. He added that he expects such attacks from “mud slinging Mitch.”